Voice2Rep will launch its third studio album at a music event at Moto Republik on Saturday, 5 November 2022, from 12 pm to 6 pm. TEN (10) Voice2Rep Finalists will release their collaborative album titled Vakuru. The event will also crown the Voice2Rep 2022 competition winner, who will receive production assistance for a music video and a $1500 grant to support their musical journey. 

Vakuru is a call from young people to the elders of Zimbabwean society to discuss the issues that affect them. Voice2Rep supports young musical artists with a message that raises awareness of social problems to improve their skills and promote their work. The young artists featured on Vakuru want to ensure that young people are heard. Vakuru invites all members of society to listen.

The album follows the tradition of mixed genre albums, including Reggae, HipHop, AfroBeat, Amapiano, a mixture of Imbube and Khwela, or township journeys or Marabi music. It is freely available across all platforms, including WhatsApp. Music fans can download the album by sending ‘Vakuru’ to +27600806146.

Voice2Rep is a joint initiative between Magamba Network & Accountability Lab Zimbabwe. It is a competition searching for underground and undiscovered music artists who support more excellent representation, participation, and accountability across Nigeria, Liberia, and Zimbabwe. The competition launched in Zimbabwe in 2020 and has produced two studio albums, Freedom (2021) and Power (2022). Sarah Yvette Bonne won the competition in 2021. She used the opportunity to establish a music studio and a non-governmental organization that supports women artists in the music industry. Tanaka Stephen Moyo, aka Ndonzi Beatx, won the 2022 edition of the competition. 

This Voice2Rep event is produced through a partnership with CivicActs and Enthuse Magazine.

VOICE2REP 2022 ARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES

1. Rumbidzai Mutasa is a 29 year old socially conscious singer from Harare. “My voice represents me, what I know and want to express which is the experience of the youth in Zimbabwe”.

2. Vanie Tombe is a 17 year old up and coming Afro-pop artist. Her music captures the sentiments of young people in Zimbabwe who are crying out for things to change.

3. Comfort Ndlovhu from Gwezha Ward in Matobo wants to bring traditional music to the forefront. “Poetry, traditional music and drama are my fields of great interest. I grew up in a rural setup where my great grandmother raised me with educative and inspiring folk tales, Makwaya and Marabi choruses from the 1930s”.

4. Tinayeh Shepherd is a 20 year old vocalist, songwriter and performer. “I grew up to realize that music is not only entertainment but POWER. The power to share critical messages, inspire action and activate lasting change”.

5. Chiedza Manyaya is an 18 year old songwriter and vocalist based in Hwange. “I am versatile with my voice which makes me a unique artist. I come from the rural areas and represent the realities and experiences of young women like me.”

6.  Tsepo Maseko is a 23 year old artist who grew up in Mzililazi, Bulawayo. “I discovered my singing talent at the age of 10 and I have over the years developed my talent into becoming a more focused and socially conscious musician”.

7. Cameth Mbedzi is a young vocalist and songwriter. “I believe that music is spiritual. My music is all about voicing up for the voiceless and comforting the distressed”.

8. Stage name Tsitsi Culture Galore, Tsitsi Masawi is an upcoming female artist who specializes in Afro-jazz. “My music talks about inequalities,and I try to share a message that will empower young women. I also sing to promote Ubuntu in a modern way as I believe that culture is dynamic. Culture is one of the factors which suppress women’s rights but my music is for culture to accommodate all women in all spheres of life”.

9. Gift Mbayi aka Abuja Lali G is an 18 year old zimdancehall upcoming artist/chanter. “I grew up in the ghetto and it pains me to see people of my age involving themselves in dangerous acts because they don’t know the consequences. What I see around me inspires my music”.

10. Paida Zanamwe aka Pekayna is a young female rapper based in Bulawayo. “I am the music prophet of the 21st Century. My purpose is to change lives through rhythm and sound”.